In an interview with The Korea Times at a coffee shop in Hongdae, Seoul, Weleski explained why North Korea was an obvious choice for Conflict Kitchen.

“Our only interest is for people to create a space for them to be curious and to develop their own opinions,” she said.

“Initially, the restaurant was conceived to be a North Korean and South Korean restaurant. We wanted to talk about the conflict between the two nations and also the relationship that the U.S. has with the conflict between the two nations ... (To prepare for the project), we shopped in the market with North Korean defectors and cooked with them.”